Developing Behavioral Intervention Plans: A Sequential Approach

By: Glenn H. Buck, Edward A. Polloway, Michael A. Kirkpatrick, and James R. Patton, et al.

The 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the 1999 Final
Regulations have brought about a number of changes in policy concerning special education. In
particular, IDEA now requires school personnel to develop a functional behavioral assessment and
behavioral intervention plan for students with disabilities who experience significant behavioral
problems in the schools. This article includes a brief discussion of the legal requirement for developing
functional behavioral assessment and behavioral intervention plans (especially as they pertain to
disciplinary actions). This discussion is followed by an outline of elements related to behavioral
intervention planning with specific guidelines for school personnel who seek to put such plans into
practice.

With the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments in 1997 (IDEA), and with
the publication of the Final Regulations in March 1999, a number of changes have been made in policies
governing special education. Of particular note, school district personnel are now faced with a more
formal requirement to address the strategies that will be employed for students with disabilities who
have significant behavior problems. Specifically, schools must conduct a functional behavioral
assessment and develop a behavioral intervention plan for any student with a disability who exhibits
severe behavior difficulties and/or who puts peers at risk because of these behaviors (e.g., selling drugs).
Likewise, the requirement applies when a student with a disability is being considered for serious
disciplinary action (e.g., a change in placement or expulsion). Specifically, either before or not later than
10 days after such disciplinary action is taken, the agency must conduct a functional behavioral
assessment and implement a behavioral intervention plan for the behavior that led to the disciplinary
action. If a plan is already in effect, the professionals must review the plan and modify it, as necessary, to
respond to the behavior.

The implementation of both functional behavioral assessments and behavioral intervention plans can
present formidable challenges for many schools. Lack of time and administrative support, differences in
philosophical orientations toward discipline, negative attitudes about special education, and a general
lack of knowledge regarding the legal and procedural aspects of behavior assessments and interventions
are among the important factors that can impede the development of effective behavior plans. In order
to overcome these barriers, it is important for educators to understand the elements of effective
planning, positive behavioral supports, parental communication, compliance with federal regulations,
and evaluation that provide the basis for subsequent decision making. Therefore, the primary purpose of
this manuscript is to familiarize the reader with different aspects of functional behavior assessments and
behavior intervention plans and the strategies that can be employed to make them useful and effective.

Why the New Mandates?

The new requirements in IDEA that relate to behavior and disciplinary problems are based on two major
assumptions:

 Behavior problems are best addressed when the cause of the behavior is known; and cause can
be determined best when a functional assessment of the student's behavior is conducted.

 Behavior interventions based on positive intervention strategies are more effective in changing
maladaptive behavior than are punitive strategies (e.g., suspension). Such intervention strategies
should be well thought out, implemented in a systematic fashion, and evaluated periodically so
that changes can be made when needed.

Although these concepts are not new to special educators, their formalized inclusion within IDEA and the
Final Regulations is significant. Added mandates to existing law typically emerge in response to perceived
deficiencies in practice. In the case of discipline, the inclusion of functional behavior assessment and
behavioral intervention plans was due to evidence that students with special needs were not realizing
positive behavior changes to a level deemed acceptable. In particular, the rate of suspensions and
expulsions for students with disabilities was too high.

Three reasons stand out to explain the failure of schools in addressing the behavior problems of students
with disabilities. First, in many instances, school personnel often provide inappropriate interventions
because they fall to identify the true cause of the disruptive behavior. Second, behavioral interventions
are often implemented haphazardly (e.g., lack of consistency, with little attention to the monitoring and
evaluation of their implementation). Third, disciplinary actions in schools have tended toward punitive
rather than positive behavioral intervention plans.

Complaints by parents, students, and educators, as well as subsequent court cases, further reinforced
the need for legislators to include detailed guidelines for the discipline of students with disabilities.

Intervention Planning

Three distinct steps can be identified within the behavioral intervention planning process (see Figure 1).
These steps are consistent with federal regulations and are reflected in the program developed by Fad,
Patton, and Polloway (1998) for behavioral intervention planning and are discussed below.

Background Information/Data Collection a

We use our data to plan our behavioral instruction for our special behavioral students. It's just like
teaching reading, but we're teaching behaviors.